Posted: 9/29/15 at 3:49pm
I've heard that Sondheim imbedded some musical clues into the Sweeney score that hint at the identity of the Beggar Woman. Do you know what some of those are?
Posted: 9/29/15 at 3:57pm
Off the top of my head I think there are some strains of the music that plays during the party section of "Poor Thing" is used in some Beggar Woman music.
Posted: 9/29/15 at 7:36pm
Also, she sings "Don't I know you, mister?" Pretty big clue there.
Posted: 9/29/15 at 7:46pm
Her salacious come-ons to Anthony and Todd in the first scene, as well as "Beedle deedle dumpling" are set to the tune of the minuet heard in the "Poor Thing" party scene.
Posted: 9/30/15 at 1:05am
There was originally a sequence just before her death where she went into the barber shop, looked around as if it seemed familiar to her, and sang a brief song to the rag doll she always carried. That song was a different lyric set to the tune of "Poor Thing." I never saw that sequence during the Broadway run, and I don't know when it was cut. However, it was included at the very start of the tour in Washington, DC. Much of the audience seemed to catch the clue. The sequence was gone by the time I saw the tour in Chicago and Los Angeles. I suppose they decided it was better to have more people surprised at the end.
Posted: 9/30/15 at 1:20am
I had always read it was written for the London production--was it incorporated into the tour? It was later used in the excellent early 90s Royal National Theatre production with Julia McKenzie as well which was broadcast on BBC radio.
Posted: 9/30/15 at 1:25am
Correction! On page 372 of FINISHING THE HAT, Sondheim says that "Beggar Woman's Lullaby" was written for the London production, which means that it was never done on Broadway. I definitely did see it in DC in late 1980, so they apparently decided to try it in this country as well. The song title doesn't appear in the DC playbill. It must have been part of the section listed as "Final Sequence." I'm still quite sure it wasn't used in Chicago or Los Angeles.
Posted: 9/30/15 at 1:27am
The barber shop scene is also included in the production that's currently being presented by the SF Opera.
I think the work is complete with all the stuff which was later cut, including the Judge's song, the longer Beadle organ songs, the second round of the Pirelli contest (which was new to me) besides the Beggar Woman's scene.
I seem to recall it was in the Johnny Depp movie as well.
Posted: 9/30/15 at 4:36am
There's also the brief "...Lucy lies in ashes" Epiphany music which plays as Sweeney murders the Beggar Woman.
